I returned to my mansion at night.
The detail of my discussion with Alesia wasn't really that important. We just talked about the possibility of Eliza doing badly in the tournament.
For the magic tournament, it seemed like Eliza had a high chance of winning, according to the headmistress, because she helped Emilia teach her in her spare time. And Eliza had been given a special pass not to attend class to focus on the tournament for the last few days.
It was the general study that she was worried about. There was no preliminary for both competitions, and the winner would become clear in just a day. Students from the Diligentia Academy were smart. They aimed to be scholars and spent almost all their time studying.
While only two students managed to pass the long-range division, they were expected to dominate the general study division. No one doubted that.
"I am back."
Arriving at my mansion, I greeted the twins, who stood near the gate before they could say anything. I beat them in saying the greeting.
They giggled slightly before doing their usual greeting.
"Welcome back, Your Holiness."
"Madam Vivian and Miss Eliza are currently sleeping in their room because Miss Eliza requested to. She said she wanted to rest for tomorrow's tournament."
The older one, Lara, spoke first, and afterward, Lisa told me about the situation in the house. They really were professional about such a thing.
"Good job." I nodded, stepping into my garden. They closed the gate and followed me from behind.
As I walked to the mansion, I decided to ask something, "Do you know where Sandra is?"
"I believe she's in the kitchen, Your Holiness," Lisa replied immediately.
"I see. Thank you." I said.
The twin nuns walked toward the door first and opened it for me. As I passed them, they bowed deeply and closed it.
So Sandra was in the kitchen. That was perfect.
Having dinner in the dining hall alone would be lonely. If the assassin was eating bread in the kitchen, I might as well have dinner in that place too. I knew it didn't fit my status, but no one would say anything to me.
From my discussion with Alesia earlier, there was something I needed to investigate a little. It was mainly about Earl Lawrence.
'The magic items used by the students from Patientia Academy are just too many, and the effect is too good. Usually, magic items that could increase stats needed a Level requirement to be used, but they are all only around Level 13 to Level 16.
That was something Alesia noticed, but I didn't. She was more observant than me when it came to magic and magic-related items.
According to her, someone could probably make such magic items in the Patientia Academy. Whoever it was, that person was talented, and Alesia wanted to recruit them.
When it came to poaching talented individuals, it seemed like the headmistress was still so motivated. She even told me that she was willing to pay whoever it was double the price as long as they came to the Royal Academy.
'I will reward my dark Elf if she can find that person or bring useful info about those magic items.'
Pushing the kitchen door open, I first saw Sandra stuffing her mouth with bread in both hands. Not only that, there was a mountain pile of soft bread in front of her.
Noticing me entering, her red eyes looked at me and blinked curiously, "Mwaster?"
"Munch and swallow the bread in your mouth first. Take it easy."
Sandra took it easy and munched the beard in her mouth like a small animal. Then when she swallowed it, she bit the one in her hands in one go.
"…"
I did say to take it easy and swallow it, but I didn't say to eat everything in her hand. Before long, they were gone, and she got off her chair, kneeling in front of me. Some breadcrumbs stuck around the edge of her lips, and she licked it.
"Gulp… Do you need me for something, Master?"
"Yes. Sit on your chair again. You can eat the bread while listening." I said, going on to the chair opposite Sandra earlier.
The dark Elf also nodded and went to her chair, taking two loaves of bread from the pile and began to munch them like a hamster. Her red eyes looked between me and the bread with a predatory gaze.
Sighing, I smiled at her rather cute gesture, "I won't take your bread. Don't worry about it."
Saying so, I took out my own meal. It was the sandwich Vivian made this afternoon. There were still two left, so I put them in my inventory.
When I bit into it, Sandra looked at me with saliva dripping from the corner of her lips. She immediately wiped it with the back of her hand, but she stopped eating her bread and looked at the sandwich in my hand.
'Right, a sandwich has two loaves of bread and meat between them…' I chuckled as I understood why her gaze was planted on the sandwich.
So I took out the second one and gave it to Sandra.
"Here. There is meat inside it."
With a bright smile, Sandra took the sandwich in my hand, "Thank you, Master. I can eat meat."
Then with a wide mouth, she bit the sandwich. Her expression brightened instantly as her long ears flapped around in happiness.
"Is it good?"
"Hnn!" Sandra nodded firmly.
"Alright, I will tell you about your mission. If you finish this or get a clue, I will give you something you want."
"Then, can I get 10 of this?!" Sandra's face lit up, and her eyes sparkled like a star.
This glutton only thought of food as usual, but I didn't blame her. She was like this, and it was fine. I even hoped she would become a little bit selfish and ask something else. Something bigger.
"I will ask Milea to make 50 of these." I smiled at her, and she threw the last bit of the sandwich into her mouth.
Sandra turned serious as she gulped the sandwich, "I will bet my life to finish this mission, Master. Please just give me your order. This humble assassin will finish it."
When I heard her say that, I couldn't help but get worried. What if someone else tempted her with more delicious bread? Though I didn't need to worry as I had dominated her.
"I want you to investigate something in Patientia Academy. I don't know whether it's a teacher or a student. There is someone who can make good magic items. Just collect information about that person and tell me about it regularly until you find the person who made the magic items."
"Is there any clue beforehand?" Sandra asked, "Such as what kind of magic items are used."
"It's the one that the students of the Patientia Academy used in their tournament earlier. If you watch the magic tournament tomorrow, I am certain that they will use it again." I replied with a serious face.
"I see. That's enough, Master. This Sandra will meet your expectations and get that 50 sandwiches!"
"It's good that you are motivated, but don't force yourself. You can return to the mansion at night to rest if needed."
"Yes, Master! Just leave it to me! For the sandwiches!" She imitated the church knight salute. "I mean, your wish is my command, Master!"
That was cute, especially since she held a loaf of bread in her hand when she did that.
Afterward, I gave her the details of what I wanted and how I wanted the information delivered to me in the arena hall at Royal Academy if she found something in advance. It would be perfect if I had another pair of [Earring of Communication], but I forgot to buy it.
'I will ask Alesia tomorrow. And I need to ask Milea to make Sandra her sandwiches.'
